Muncie woman found guilty of dealing drugs that led to fatal overdose

MUNCIE, Ind. — A Muncie woman was convicted Friday of dealing the drugs that led to a fatal overdose.

A Delaware Circuit Court 5 jury found Cynthia Crane, 37, guilty of dealing in a controlled substance resulting in death, a Level 1 felony carrying up to 40 years in prison.

Crane was also convicted of conspiracy to commit dealing in a narcotic drug and conspiracy to commit dealing in meth, both Level 5 felonies with maximum six-year sentences.

Judge Thomas Cannon Jr. on Friday afternoon ordered Crane — who had been free on bond — taken into custody to await an April 12 sentencing hearing.

During the trial, prosecutors presented testimony indicating Crane and her boyfriend, Curtis Blair Atkinson, in November 2020 had sold a local woman meth and fentanyl that caused her death.

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The victim, a 32-year-old mother of two children, was found dead in a home in Eaton.

In his closing remarks on Friday morning, defense attorney David Shircliff of Fishers told jurors there was no evidence the drugs that caused the overdose death were provided by his client.

"This is not about the truth," Shircliff said of the state's case against Crane.

Chief Deputy Prosecutor Zach Craig responded that the defense's case represented a theme of "ignore and distract."

That remark drew an objection from Shircliff.

After Craig said the defense case had been built upon a "house of cards," Shircliff asked Judge Cannon to declare a mistrial. The judge declined to do so.

The chief deputy prosecutor said evidence showed that Crane was "a liar."

"She has shown that over and over and over again," Craig added.

Another Delaware Circuit Court 5 jury last year found Atkinson, now 41, guilty of the same counts that Crane was convicted of. He was later sentenced to 42 years in prison by Cannon.

Crane still faces a total of 10 charges, nine of them drug-related, in four other cases pending in Circuit Court 5 — three counts of possession of a narcotic drug, two counts of unlawful possession of a syringe, and single charges of possession of meth, maintaining a common nuisance, possession of marijuana, possession of paraphernalia and false informing.

Trials in those cases are set for September and October.

In a release, Delaware County Prosecutor Eric Hoffman noted Crane became the ninth person in Delaware County to be convicted of dealing drugs resulting in death.

"The days of drug dealers preying on the weak and vulnerable are long gone," Hoffman said. "We willcontinue to aggressively prosecute these crimes."

Douglas Walker is a news reporter for The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Jury finds Muncie woman guilty in drug deal leading to fatal overdose